Mobile shopping is set to boom this Cyber Monday (the biggest Christmas shopping day online), but retailers are being advised to continue their marketing efforts throughout December. Rakuten Marketing reveals trends into Christmas shopping and Cyber Monday sales, highlighting the importance of this day in the online retail calendar. Last Cyber Monday, sales were up […]
Mobile shopping is set to boom this Cyber Monday (the biggest Christmas shopping day online), but retailers are being advised to continue their marketing efforts throughout December.
Rakuten Marketing reveals trends into Christmas shopping and Cyber Monday sales, highlighting the importance of this day in the online retail calendar. Last Cyber Monday, sales were up by 49% across the company’s affiliate CPA network, Rakuten LinkShare compared to the previous year. The growing popularity of e-commerce suggests that this is likely to rise again according to Centre for Retail Research.
Cyber Monday takes place on 2nd December this year and is expected to be the busiest online shopping day in terms of sales volume. It will contribute to the huge £10bn that online retail sales alone are expected to bring in this December suggests IMRG and Capgemini.
Sales completed on smartphones and tablets are expected to be a big driver of revenue this Christmas, with Rakuten LinkShare data revealing that mobile sales had a 14% share of total sales across the network on last year’s Cyber Monday. The fact that 78% of these mobile sales were completed on a tablet suggests that the enhanced visual shopping experience makes them the perfect platform to drive sales, with dynamic content to engage shoppers.
Shoppers spend more money closer to Christmas as the pressure to purchase gifts mounts. In 2012 the most expensive purchases across the network were seen on Wednesday 12th December; although fewer people were shopping than on Cyber Monday, each of those shoppers was spending more.
Consumers are equally keen to purchase over Christmas itself; the Rakuten LinkShare network saw sales in 2012 increase by 45% year-on-year, with the biggest day for mobile sales being Boxing Day. This sale spike is largely due to consumers browsing on their tablets at home during the holidays and being encouraged to make purchases by post-Christmas online sales.
Mark Haviland, MD, Rakuten Marketing commented: “Retailers shouldn’t let the ball drop after Cyber Monday or even in the period after Christmas Day. Our data shows that the volume of shoppers, the checkout value, and transactions across mobile devices all peak on different days in December, so retailers should consider how to engage with each type of shopper to increase chances of sales. Different approaches to marketing will be needed across December as shopping habits change during the holiday. For instance, mobile is going to be absolutely key for retailers on Christmas day itself as people shop at home in front of the television, so a presence on these devices will be essential to catch the eye of shoppers scouting the sales online.”
